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## Chapter 14: Piṇḍaniyukti
**Or, the Second Bhadrabahu?** A detailed discussion regarding the antiquity and authorship of the Niyukti literature will be presented in the next forthcoming section of the Niyukti literature.
According to Dr. Sagarmal Jain, the fourteenth पूर्वी Ācārya Bhadrabahu lived long ago, and the Second Bhadrabahu lived much later. Therefore, there must have been another Ācārya named Bhadrabahu in between. According to him, Āryabhadra of the Gautama gotra, who lived in the second century CE, can be considered the author of the Niyuktis. There is also an inscription from the fifth century CE that mentions Bhadraanvaya. Since he is the only Ācārya whose authorship would make the time of the Niyukti composition fit, he can be considered the author. However, this argument cannot be fully accepted because there is no similarity between the names Āryabhadra and Bhadrabahu. Nevertheless, his opinion compels us to think in this direction.
The earliest mention of Piṇḍaniyukti is found in the Daśavaikalika Cūrṇi by Jinadas. This mention suggests that the Piṇḍaniyukti was composed before the Cūrṇikāra Jinadas Gaṇi, because the Cūrṇi literature is considered to be from the sixth and seventh centuries CE. According to Dr. Sagarmal Jain, there is no specific information in the Niyukti literature after the second century CE. Therefore, the Second Bhadrabahu cannot be its author.
The entire section related to the faults of origin, production, and burning has been transferred from the Piṇḍaniyukti to the Mūlācāra. Some Digambara scholars also accept this. Based on this argument, it can be assumed that the Piṇḍaniyukti must have been composed before the Mūlācāra. Some verses related to the faults of production have been transferred from the Piṇḍaniyukti to the Niśītha Bhāṣya. Based on this, its time of composition is also proven to be earlier.
In the ten Niyuktis promised in the Āvश्यक Niyukti, the names Piṇḍaniyukti and Oghanīyukti are not mentioned. This suggests that after or before composing the ten Niyuktis, Ācārya Bhadrabahu composed two independent texts to expound the dietary and general conduct of a muni, which he named Piṇḍaniyukti and Oghanīyukti.
The question may arise as to why he did not mention them in the ten Niyuktis? The solution to this is that there, Ācārya Bhadrabahu is making a vow to compose Niyukti literature based on the vast knowledge of the scriptures expounded by the Tīrthankaras and Ācāryas, not to compose any independent text. Therefore, he mentioned the Niyuktis written on the Ācārāṅga and other sūtras.
1. Sagar Jain Vidya Bharati, p. 222-24.